The 12 Hours and 2 Ribs of Sebring, 1992

The 1992 Sebring 12 hours was a fantastic event and one I shall always remember. . .  This is partly due to the victory, together with Juan Fangio and the AAR Toyota Team, and partly for another reason . . .

I was driving for TOMS Toyota in the World Sportscar Championship that year pedalling the beautiful TS010. As part of the preparations for the new season we flew out to Australia for an endurance test at the Eastern Creek circuit near Sydney. A great track with a very fast (190+mph) turn one with a big bump in the middle. Excellent place to test the endurance of the car we thought, but it ended up testing the endurance of the drivers, as it turned out... On the final day of the test both myself and my friend and co-driver, the late Hitoshi Ogawa, broke two ribs each, going flat out over that big bump. We didn’t hit anything, it was just the forces exerted on the driver, lap after lap over the bump. Ouch!

Not such a big deal except that it was 29 February 1992 and I had been invited to drive for AAR at Sebring. I had to fly back home to the UK (2 x 12 hour flights back to back), then a few days later from London to Orlando for the race! The doctor said I should be OK in 5 to 6 weeks. The race was in 21 days... first practice in 16! Considering that Sebring is the bumpiest track on the planet (or it was in 1992), and that Dan Gurney’s Eagle Toyota MKIII was a rocket ship with a gazillion horsepower and downforce to match, I decided to pack a few pain killers in my suitcase...! I didn’t dare tell anyone at AAR what had happened in case they told me to stay at home.

The Sydney to London flight was my first challenge. Each time I had to visit the toilet (or “bathroom” as Americans insist on calling it, even thought there is no bath in there?), I inevitably had to pass the odd fellow passenger in the isle. I made sure I stopped and informed said passenger not to touch me as we passed. Must have thought I was a basket case. Then there was the sneezing problem... Anyone familiar with broken ribs will know what I’m talking about here. I still wince if I think about it.

The race itself went relatively smoothly. Yes I could feel my ribs smarting a bit, but the main discomfort was caused by the driver changes at pit stop time and whenever there was a safety car on track. The Toyota was very stiffly sprung to keep it from burying itself into the ground under the forces of its enormous downforce. Fine at full speed but it really did bounce around when crawling along behind the pace car. Of course, up on the podium after the race with the Champagne flying, you tend to forget any negatives.

The Eagle MKIII was an an incredible car. The AAR team knew it well and had come up with an excellent set-up to suit the demanding Sebring track. It was powered by a tiny but brutally powerful 2.1 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder engine. Throttle response and drivability were not its strong points and it was a real handful to control, but when it was on-boost and pointing the right way you certainly got to the next corner quickly! The track has changed quite a bit since the ‘90’s, but turn one was still as it is today. You arrived in top gear at something over 175mph, lightly dusted the brake pedal, pulled the car in towards the concrete apex wall, and then gradually squeezed the throttle back down as early as you dared. Top gear and definitely in the “fast corner” category. I shared the car with Juan Fangio II, a great driver and an all round good bloke. He had been at Eastern Creek with me for the endurance test but kindly kept my ribs issue to himself.

The following year AAR entrusted the exact same chassis to Juan & me for the 12 hours and we managed to pull off another victory. This time without the sore ribs!

Andy Wallace, March 2009.